Two who can go, one who will stay
I walk my dog Terashima-kun every morning and night. Most often, they are rather innocuous strolls. He does poo and pees and he sniffs and licks. I walk with my thoughts. Every once in a while though there is a scene I capture, or maybe a caught snippet of conversation, that can stick with me through the day.
This morning about 6:30am Tera and I were doing the Tokyo stroll when we rounded a final corner on return to our house. There is an AirBNB thing on a small hill, and I heard two young American male voices in conversation. Well, only one of the guys was talking while the other just sort of politely nodded along to indicate engagement.
The one speaking was swarthy I remember. He said, “I mean, I swear. I really think women shouldn’t have been given the fucking vote. Know why? One day they’re gonna fucking vote some guy into power who will then start a war, and it’s the men who will then die fighting in it.”
A true Einstein. Tera and I kept walking—make no eye contact kind of thing. These dudes were a perfect example of who I will never engage in my adopted, and in many ways more comfortable, home. All I could think was, great insight “Brett,” hope your trip to Japan is ending today. Time to fly back to Wyoming.
The dog tried to stop and sniff one of his favorite sign poles. I wanted to create distance from Brett and his friend, so tugged the pooch forward toward our house. Nope, not stopping now.
Just then I saw a small group of Japanese dealing with a bit of a situation. It was the lady dentist’s house, and at the foot of the long staircase that leads up to her office from the street, a very pretty and well-dressed 20-something Japanese girl was asleep.
Well, actually passed out cold. Horizontal.
The young lady’s hair was combed. She had on a very cute mid-length and poofy white cocktail dress with a dark silk blouse. I bet she was at a nice party last night, where she unfortunately got a bit lost in the Strong Chu-Hi’s. As I came upon the scene, dentist saw me approaching and gave an embarrassed “Whacha gonna do” smile in my direction. I returned a “Sorry you have to deal with this” grimace and quarter bowed. Her husband, about 70, was gingerly stepping over and past the girl. Noticing that one part of the frilly dress had hiked up to just below the sleeping girl’s butt, he very carefully pinched the fabric and tugged the skirt back down for decency. It was thoughtful of him.
Dentist turned and went back into her office…I think to call the police for a bit of assistance.
What's the back story regarding the name of your dog?
The gentleman pulling down the dress reminded me of something that happened to me a few years ago. In a ladies room I exited the stall and went to wash my hands when a woman approached me apologetically, saying 大変失礼ですが… I couldn’t imagine what she intended to say to me but she informed me that my skirt was slightly rucked up in the back. I thanked her and fixed it but I’ve always remembered how humble she was in telling me something for my benefit. That kind of way of interacting that is the opposite of in-your-face is truly classy.